I believe, according to the citizenship Q & A online, that I am a Canadian citizen. My father became Nationalized in in 1926. His Canadian passport shows an expiration date of 1952. He moved to the USA with my mother who was an American. I was born in Boston, Ma, USA in 1950 . My question is how do I get proof of citizenship for Canada. I have my father's documents, but they are very old. Do I have to send the doc's with application? Is there anyplace in the USA (Boston) where I can personally go to complete application? I have family in Montreal and Ottawa. Is it easier to go to the Immigration Office in Canada? Are the rules different for Quebec? Thank You
Proof of Citizenship
- Thread starter JL50
- Start date
Follow the instructions here to apply for proof of citizenship: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/proof-how.aspJL50 said:
(FYI - site is very slow at this time due to Trump.)
The process is the same for all of Canada. There is no place to go to submit the application in person.
Your father was naturalized, not as a Canadian citizen (which didn't exist until 1947), but as a British subject with Canadian domicile. If your father was still in Canada on January 1, 1947, and I assume he was, since he possessed a Canadian passport that seems to have been issued in 1947, then he became a Canadian citizen on that date. If he became a U.S. citizen before 1977 (or resided outside of Canada for 6 years before 1977), he would have lost his Canadian citizenship, but he (if still living) would have gotten it back on April 17, 2009. You, as the first generation born abroad, would have become a Canadian citizen for the first time. If you have any children born in the U.S., however, they would not have inherited citizenship thru you, because you were not a citizen when they were born.
If you send your father's original documents, you will not get them back. It looks as though notaries in Massachusetts can certify true copies, so you can send copies instead:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_copy
From the instructions for Proof of Canadian Citizenship: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/CIT0001ETOC.asp#CIT0001E4
"Certified true copies
To have a photocopy of a document certified, an authorized person must compare the original document to the photocopy and must print the following on the photocopy:
“I certify that this is a true copy of the original document”, the name of the original document, the date of the certification, his or her name, his or her official position or title, and his or her signature."
It doesn't look like you will be submitting a birth or marriage record from Quebec, but if your are, be aware that old certificates (from before 1994) are not accepted.
If you send your father's original documents, you will not get them back. It looks as though notaries in Massachusetts can certify true copies, so you can send copies instead:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_copy
From the instructions for Proof of Canadian Citizenship: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/CIT0001ETOC.asp#CIT0001E4
"Certified true copies
To have a photocopy of a document certified, an authorized person must compare the original document to the photocopy and must print the following on the photocopy:
“I certify that this is a true copy of the original document”, the name of the original document, the date of the certification, his or her name, his or her official position or title, and his or her signature."
It doesn't look like you will be submitting a birth or marriage record from Quebec, but if your are, be aware that old certificates (from before 1994) are not accepted.